Bloomberg TV India recommends revamp in TAM's measurement processes for niche channels 

The channel claims that just nine viewers in Delhi and 12 in Mumbai, going by TAM data, decide the fate of all English Business News channels

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | October 11, 2012

Bloomberg TV India, the nation's premier English business channel, today strongly recommended that TAM should revamp its reporting processes and practices for niche channels. The current processes are resulting in loss of reputation and advertising revenues for the channel.

A data run done on TAM software by the Bloomberg TV India team clearly shows that the sample size for the English Business News channels genre is way too low and cannot decide the fate of the genre. When narrowed down to major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, the scenario becomes even worse. The detailed analysis is provided hereunder for ready reference:

Source: TAM India Viewergraphics, Weeks: 13 to 35, 2012, Time: 2:00-25:59, All Days, TG: Digital Male 25 Years+ SEC A

Mumbai

• Digital TG: The average sample size for Bloomberg TV India  has been less than 1 (at 0.7)
• For the genre (English business news) the average is 12

Delhi

• Digital TG: The average sample size for Bloomberg TV India has been less than 3 (at 2.75)
• For the genre (English business news) the average is 9

TAM data also show that Mumbai and Delhi account for 62 per cent English business news viewership of 8 metros in the digital Male 25+ SEC A, a key TG for advertisers. It is alarming that only nine viewers in Delhi and 12 viewers in Mumbai dictate what this large population watches and decides the fate of all English Business News channels.

Sriram Kilambi

Sriram Kilambi, President, Bloomberg TV India, commented, “We are a niche channel and have been broadcasting content that has been highly appreciated by opinion makers and CEOs. Unfortunately, this does not reflect in the viewership data. TAM has been the provider of audience measurement tools to the industry and we respect and appreciate their work. Our only submission, based on research using their own data and tools, is that their current processes work very well for the GECs and not for niche channels like ours.”

Shivi Chopra, AVP, Marketing & Research, Bloomberg TV India, added, “Delhi and Mumbai are the biggest consumers of English business news channels and if the sample size in these two metros is limited to 9 and 12, respectively, viewership numbers are not going to give the true picture. TAM needs to revamp their reporting process for niche channels at the earliest and till that is done; they should stop reporting the viewership numbers of this genre of channels.”

We recommend that TAM makes the following changes in their reporting processes:

1. TAM should stop reporting the viewership numbers of this genre till the time the anomaly is corrected and the sample sizeis increased

1. Broadcasters/industry body should be allowed to conduct random checks at the sampling homes

1. As DAS takes centrestage, we recommend that there is adequate sampling within the add-on packs to ensure that the current discrimination against the niche channels is addressed

1. Alternatively, TAM should find a solution for the niche channels by designing a separate process/mechanism of reporting viewership

Bloomberg TV India is now calling upon TAM to present a detailed plan to correct these anomalies in the system, plug the loopholes and stop reporting numbers for the English business news genre till these changes are made.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com